Catch Me If You Can
by khay
Summary: He was Beck Oliver, he did not do jealousy. The only reason he was following (not spying on!) his girlfriend was because he was concerned about her well-being. After all, she did jump on the motorcycle driven by a tattooed and goateed stranger without telling anyone where she's going. (Pinch-hitting for the Bade Prompts Gift Exchange.)


Author: khay  
Category: Victorious  
Rating: T  
Disclaimer: Victorious and all related characters do not belong to me.  
Summary: He was Beck Oliver, he didn't do jealousy. The only reason he was following (not spying on!) his girlfriend was because he was concerned about her well-being. After all, she did jump on the motorcycle driven by a tattooed and goateed stranger without telling anyone where she's going.  
Continuity: Post Series.  
Beta: The fantabulous Lari (tsttoian) who, despite my incessant moanings and groanings while writing this fic, is still friends with me.

oOo

**Catch Me If You Can**

oOo

What Beck Oliver had in his hands may be the catalyst for World War III.

It was Valentines Day, and no matter what Jade said about not wanting to celebrate the over-commercialized holiday, Beck knew she was still expecting something special from him (her _recently-reconciled-with-significant-other)._

Beck planned to surprise Jade with dinner at Maestro's where she would surely spend hours entertaining herself (and him) by making fun of the couples celebrating Valentines (an Anti-Valentines Dinner, so to speak).

Unfortunately for Beck, fate had other plans for him.

Just as everyone was antsy to go home, there only being only fifteen more minutes until the end of the school day, Anthony, the heartless (and probably Valentine-less) music teacher announced a challenge. He gave his class twenty-four hours to write a song. The best song written within that time frame would get the chance to be heard by a producer friend of his.

Beck planned on blowing the entire thing off in lieu of celebrating tonight with his beautiful girl. After all, he was an actor first and foremost. It was never his goal to be heard by a music producer.

Bad luck struck when he got paired off with Tori Vega, a pop star wannabe who was very excited for another chance to shine. Beck cannot, in good conscience, abandon Tori to write an entire song by herself in one day. (Sometimes, Beck thought, it sucked to be the good guy.)

After a panicky moment (or ten), Beck came up with the idea of telling Jade that celebrating Anti-Valentines at the same day as Valentines Day would be a sellout. Instead, they would celebrate it the following day, a Friday, by having an intimate dinner for two inside a creepy, old, abandoned warehouse. (The execution of his plan was already giving Beck a headache: he has to order food at the last minute, make sure it's delivered to the correct spot, fix the place up, and other logistical nightmares. Next year, he decided, it would be a simple candle-lit dinner for two in the RV.)

Yup. That sounded just about right. Now, if he could only convince Jade of his flawless logic.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Tori asked Beck as soon as she arrived at his locker. They had agreed to meet there after classes so they could drive together to Tori's house. (Also, when Jade murders him, Beck wanted witnesses, preferably someone the police would believe.) "Because I would totally get if you bail. It's Valentines Day, after all."

"Not a problem," Beck assured her. "Jade would understand."

"You haven't told her yet?" Tori asked in horror as she slowly began backing away. "Well, uh, I forgot something in Sikowitz's classroom. Be back in ten!"

Beck quickly snagged Tori's arm, preventing the girl from leaving. "Don't worry about it." He assured her.

"She's gonna kill us both!" Tori groaned, defeated.

"Hey!" Beck protested, affronted. "I can handle Jade."

"We're doomed." Tori slumped against the locker next to Beck's when her chances of escaping seemed null. "There she comes."

True enough, Jade was quickly descending the stairs. She was unmindful of her surroundings as she was furiously typing something on her PearPhone.

Jade was, in fact, so absorbed in what she was doing that she would have walked past Beck and Tori had not her boyfriend planted himself on her path. (Tori, on the other hand, tried to make herself invisible by attempting to blend in with the locker behind her, much like a chameleon.)

"Jade," Beck gave her his most winning smile. "Babe. Hey."

"Hey." Jade replied absently without even looking up. It was only after she finished whatever it was she was doing that she tore her attention from her phone to look at her boyfriend. "Oh, good. I was looking for you."

"What a coincidence," Beck gave Jade his most innocent look. "So was I."

Before Beck could say anything more, he was interrupted by the sound of breaking glass.

Jade held up a finger to stop Beck from continuing. "Unbelievable!" She muttered after reading her message. She furiously typed a reply before stashing her phone in her pocket. "Listen, about tonight," she began.

"Yeah," Beck interrupted her. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. You know how I told you when I picked you up this morning that we don't have plans tonight?" He began. "Funny thing, really. It turned out we really don't have plans tonight."

Unbeknownst to Beck, he no longer had his girlfriend's attention the moment her phone received another text message.

"We don't have plans tonight, right?" Jade asked Beck While composing a reply. "I have somewhere I need to be."

"I'm sorry, babe. It can't be helped." Beck tried to explain, to make her understand that as much as he wanted to spend Valentines with her, he can't. "I had a huge thing planned but—wait. Did you say you're going somewhere?"

Beck's question went unanswered when Jade's phone started ringing. "What?" She snarled at the mobile. "Yeah, yeah. Sure. I'm on my way out. Hold on." She turned to Beck. "Can you drop this at my house on your way home?" Without waiting for an answer, Jade handed her bag to Beck and went right back to her call.

Beck gaped at Jade unattractively even as he took the bag.

"You'll swing by the parking lot? Perfect. I'll be out in two seconds." Jade ended the call, stashed the phone in her pocket once again, gave Beck a kiss on the cheek and walked out the school with a casual, "See you later, babe!" over her shoulder.

There was a couple of seconds of shocked silence before Tori approached Beck. "Well, that went better than expected."

Beck opened his mouth to retort, but Andre burst into the school.

"Dude!" He called out to Beck. "Didn't you have a coveted reservation at Maestro's tonight?" He demanded.

"Yeah," Beck replied. "I do."

"So why is your girlfriend out there at the parking lot hanging out with a dude on a motorcycle?" Andre demanded.

Beck met Tori's eyes. Without a word, both of them rushed to the parking lot.

"Sure!" Andre called after their retreating backs. "Let me deliver my lines then ignore me. No wonder I'm so underrated."

The first thing Beck heard once he was outside was the loud rumble of a monster bike.

The scene was as Andre described.

A dark, stocky guy whose arms were adorned with sleeve tattoos was straddling a big bike in the middle of Hollywood Arts parking lot. The dude was clad in a black leather jacket, too tight jeans and motorcycle boots. His head was covered by a helmet, which he removed to reveal dark, curly hair exploding all over his face. His eyes were covered by dark, horn-rimmed glasses and his chin with a neatly trimmed goatee.

The stranger attempted to jam his helmet on Jade's head.

Jade slapped the stranger's helpful hands away before grabbing the helmet and putting it on herself.

The guy the revved the engine of his motorcycle just as Jade climbed on behind him.

The moment Jade wrapped her arms around his middle, the stranger tore out of the school lot, taking Jade with him.

"Why does Jade get all the hot guys?" Tori stomped her foot in frustration.

Beck glared at Tori.

"I meant to say, now we can start on our songwriting class, right Beck?" Tori laughed nervously. "Let's go be creative!"

oOo

"Here you go," Tori placed two cans of lemonade on the kitchen table where Beck was sitting.

After a tense and quiet drive, the two of them were now in Tori's house to begin their project.

"Thanks," Beck replied as he picked up his guitar to begin their songwriting session.

Tori grinned at him as she opened her notebook and picked up her pen. "Alright. How about we write a duet? It could be about a girl and a boy who never met, but their hearts are searching for each other. Then at the end of the song, they find each other and are complete."

"Or," Beck suggested as he stroked his guitar. "It could be about a girl sneaking behind her boyfriend's back and keeping secrets!" He viciously strummed a particularly discordant chord that made Tori wince.

"Maybe we should focus first on the lyrics." Tori suggested as she took the guitar away from Beck. The boy did not resist, so Tori was able to quickly place the instrument on the table. "Here, this will cool you off." She popped open the tab on the can of lemonade before handing it to Beck.

Beck accepted it absently. "Or," he continued on as if Tori never opened her mouth. "We could also write about a guy beating the chiz out of another guy who was trying to steal his girlfriend!" Unconsciously, he squeezed the can he was holding, causing its contents to spill over the table.

"Beck!" Tori jumped up to grab a rag from the sink. "Just call Jade and ask her what's going on." She told him as she cleaned up the mess he made.

"I can't do that!" Beck looked at Tori in horror. "She'd think that I don't trust her."

"Well, don't you?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then what are you spazzing—"

"It's that other guy I don't trust."

Tori groaned and buried her face in her arms which were folded on the table. They were never going to finish the song at the rate they were going.

"Well, if you don't call her, what do you want to do? Follow her then spy on them?" Tori asked in exasperation.

"Excellent idea!" Beck replied as he stood up. He put on his discarded jacked before pulling Tori out of the house. She barely even had the chance to grab her purse before she was dragged out of the house by Beck.

Soon, Tori found herself once again in the passenger seat of Beck's car as he drove around her neighborhood. She didn't know how she got roped into situations like this with her friends. Life was much more simpler when she was in Sherwood High.

"You do know that Jade would never do whatever it is you're thinking to you, right?" Tori ventured, attempting to talk some sense into Beck.

"I know."

"And we have no idea where to begin searching for Jade."

A pause, then Beck, uncharacteristically, slammed the wheel in frustration before pulling over the shoulder.

"Maybe we should go back to my house to finish our songwriting assignment." Tori suggested.

"No."

"No?"

Beck's face was blank save for the tightening of the corner of his mouth. "I can't go back. I need to know who that guy is."

"Aw," Tori teased. "Is little Becky jealous?"

"No!" Beck scoffed. "Of course not." At Tori's disbelieving look, he reconsidered. "Maybe. A little bit." He gave Tori his (tried and tested) puppy-dog eyes.

"Fine." Tori sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

Beck thought for a minute then, "I have an idea." He struggled to free his phone from his back pocket. He dialed a number.

"Who are you calling?" Tori demanded.

Beck lifted an index finger when the other line was picked up. "Sinjin!" He greeted.

Tori leaned over to eavesdrop and tried to be extra quiet.

"What's up, Beck?"

"Are you busy tonight?"

"Do you have an extra ticket to the drag race again?" Sinjin asked excitedly. "I can't tonight, though. It's Valentines, you know. That one special night that Sinjin puts the ladies before his bros."

"That's great." Beck's grin widened. "You're on a date right now?"

"Of course."

"Where's Jade?"

"She's in the newly opened diner with this dude who—" Sinjin paused when he realized he gave away too much. "Aw, nuts."

"You're stalking Jade?" Tori couldn't help but interject.

A moment of silence then, "Tori?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Why are you with Beck? On Valentines? And why is Jade with the dude who—oh my god, he's sniffing her hair!" Sinjin suddenly exclaimed, gravely offended. "That's my thing!"

"Sinjin! Focus!" Beck snapped, his voice filled with authority. "Where are you?"

"I'm not sure." Sinjin replied, his voice small.

Beck pinched the bridge of his nose and prayed for patience.

Tori, however, did not have the self-control Beck had. "How can you not be sure?"

"I'm sorry!" Sinjin cried out. "I wasn't exactly paying attention. It's hard to keep up with a motorcycle on my bike and still keep track of my surroundings!"

"I got this," Beck whispered to Tori. Then, to Sinjin, "Did you bring your binoculars?"

"Yes." Sinjin replied, relieved to hear a question that he can actually answer. "Got my binos right here."

"Can you see Jade?"

"Yes. But she's hiding behind a menu."

"What?" Beck jerked up in alarm. "Is she alright? Who is she hiding from? Her companion?"

"No, they're hiding together using different menus." Sinjin paused. "Well, the dude tried to hide behind Jade's menu, but she shoved him off their booth."

'Atta girl, Beck thought.

"What?" Tori interjected again. "What are they doing?"

"Shhh." Beck moved away from her to prevent her from eavesdropping further.

Tori glared at Beck, annoyed that she's being kept out of the conversation just as it was getting interesting.

"Do you see any landmarks, street signs or anything that would give you a clue on where you are? Uh-huh. Yes, I have that. You can? That's great! You're a big help, Sinj. I owe you one."

"So?" Tori demanded once Beck hung up.

"Sinjin is turning on his location services so that we could track him using his PearPhone." He opened the app on his own phone. "Got it." Beck grinned triumphantly when a red dot showed him where Sinjin was. He handed Tori his phone. "Tell me if Sinjin changes location." He instructed her before signaling to merge into traffic.

Minutes later, Beck and Tori found themselves at the outer edge of Los Feliz.

"According to your phone, Sinjin should be around here somewhere." Tori declared.

Beck parked and they started looking around on foot.

From somewhere behind them, the bushes moved. "Psst. Over here!"

Tori jumped. "Sinjin? What are you doing in the bushes?"

"I like it here." Sinjin replied defensively. "It reminds me of my childhood."

"Is Jade still here?" Beck demanded.

Sinjin nodded as he motioned towards the establishment in front of them.

It was a classic American diner. It's green walls was filled with artistic graffiti. Through the wide glass windows, one can see that the walls inside were filled with signatures and doodles. On top of the prefabricated building, a sign proudly announced, _Pumpkin's Palace_, _Open 24/7_. Since it was Valentines Day, the diner was filled with costumers.

Beck grabbed the binoculars around Sinjin's neck to see better inside. (Sinjin choked as the binocular's strapped tightened around his neck, not that the fluffy-haired teen noticed.)

Beck immediately located the booth occupied by his quarries. The tattooed dude's back was to him, but he recognized him because of his leather jacket and his riotous head of dark brown curls. Dude was blocking Beck's vision of Jade, but he could see her hand and her PearPhone on the table. Slowly, dude's hand started crawling toward's Jade. When the tips of their fingers touched, Beck has had enough.

"I'm going in!" Beck declared.

"Wait!"

"What?" He snapped impatiently at Tori.

"Maybe you could let go of the binoculars first. Sinjin is turning a very unattractive shade of purple."

Beck passed the binoculars back to Sinjin who caught it with a grateful, "Oof."

Tori casted a worried glance towards Sinjin, but hurried after Beck who had strode in purposely into the diner.

Once inside, Beck noticed that Dude, whose back was still to him, was now holding Jade's hand and was moving closer and closer towards her.

Beck didn't give himself time to think. Instead, he walked directly to the booth and grabbed the shoulder of the guy trying to kiss his girl. Beck jerked him off the seat and Dude fell down on the floor.

"Ouch!"

"Robbie?" Tori gasped when she realized who the guy Beck just jerked to the floor was.

"Tori?" Robbie's companion cried out.

"Cat?" Beck's eyes widened when he realized who Robbie was with.

"Beck?" Someone from behind him called out.

"Jade?" Robbie was confused why Jade was on the other booth and why Beck was manhandling him.

"Mikey!" The dude sharing Jade's booth declared exuberantly.

A beat, then everyone was talking all at once.

A shrill whistle stopped them all.

As one, they turned to the young-looking woman who had sounded the whistle. She looked at the group of friends suspiciously. "Is everything alright here?"

The group nodded.

"Good." She said as she adjusted the mint green ribbon on her head. "I run a clean, peaceful place. I wouldn't hesitate to kick you out of my establishment the moment you create trouble, understood?"

The woman was on the small side, the slight exotic tilt of her eyes betrayed her Asian heritage. She, however, looked sturdy and capable and the group had no doubt that if she said that she would kick them out at the slightest hint of trouble, she would be able to kick them all out. So the teens nodded their assent (Save for Jade who just rolled her eyes).

Later, the six of them were occupying a single booth, much to Robbie's regret (They had tried to invite Sinjin inside, but the boy refused, saying that he's much more comfortable in the bushes).

"Let me get this straight," Beck, whose arm was firmly around his girlfriend's shoulders, was looking at the Dude "You're Cat's brother."

"I am." He grinned. "Mikey Valentine, at your service." He then copied Beck's pose by putting an arm around Tori's shoulders.

Tori grabbed hold of the hand on her shoulder, removed it from her person and placed it on the table. "My dad's a cop."

Mikey looked crestfallen, then he brightened. He placed his other arm around Robbie, who was seated on his other side.

Robbie squeaked in fear.

"Aren't you supposed to be in Idaho learning mental relaxation?" Tori demanded.

"I was." Mikey replied.

"And?"

"Now, I'm not."

Both Tori and Robbie scooted away from Mikey.

"So what were the two of you up to?" Beck demanded, indicating Mikey and Jade.

"We were just hanging out." Jade glared, challenging anyone to contradict her. Beck gave her a look that made her groan. "Fine. We were spying on Cat and Robbie."

Beck grinned. He immediately got the logic of his fascinating, wonderfully twisted girlfriend.

But Cat didn't. "Why?" She pouted.

Beck nudged her with his arm. "Tell her."

"Don't make me say it!" Jade hissed.

"Come on, Jade, tell her."

"No!"

"Please?"

"Ugh. Fine. I was worried, okay? When Mikey texted me that you're going out on a date with Robbie, I wanted to make sure he treats you right." Jade glared at Robbie. "Because the last time the two of you went out on your own, you ended up playing pirates."

"Aw." Cat hugged Jade. "Mommy loves me."

"No!"

"That explains why Jade and Mikey are here," Robbie observed. "But why are you here?" The question was addressed to Beck and Tori.

Jade suddenly stiffened. "Why are you out together?" She asked suspiciously.

Beck winced. There was no way he could answer that question without Jade losing her temper.

"We have a project for Songwriting Class that's due tomorrow." Tori replied smoothly as she slid out of the booth. "We decided to take a break because our brains are bleeding from all that creativity."

"Right, right." Beck stood up, too. "Oh, look at the time. We better get back to songwriting, Tori, or else we'll never finish our project!"

Beck and Tori rushed out the door, but they weren't quick enough not to hear Jade's loud bellow of, "Get your butt right back here, Beck Oliver, and explain why you're spending Valentines with Vega!"

"You're doomed." Tori told him, pity radiating from every syllable.

"I am."

"Want to write a song about a boyfriend groveling for his girlfriend to forgive him?"

"Yes. We should totally write that."

"Do you think we could write that song in a couple of hours?"

"Not a chance."

A beat then, "I'll call Andre."

"Great idea."

The two of them (plus Andre) spent the rest of the night writing the song. (It didn't make it to Anthony's top five, though, but at least they had a song.)

(Also, Beck spent the following day making it up to Jade. Anti-Valentines Dinner was successful, especially after Jade laughed herself silly after Beck sang the groveling song.)

And all was well in Hollywood Arts again.

oOo

**The End**

oOo

P.S. This fic was written for Bade Prompts Gift Exchange for the über talented **Pumpkin** (girlwithribbon on Tumblr). The prompt I picked is stalking Cabbie on a date (and Cat is Bade's baby from the future, if you squint). How I got jealous!Beck from that prompt, I really don't know.

Hi, Pumpkin! I'm 99% sure this was not what you had in mind when you gave the prompt, but I hope you liked this nonetheless :)


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